Greek elections: Which parties are in the race?

Leader of Greece's main opposition New Democracy conservative party Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaks during the presentation of his pre-election program in Athens, Greece June 21, 2 - Copyright REUTERS/Costas Baltas

By Pantelis Petrakis

Published on 03/07/2019 - 20:24•Updated 05/07/2019 - 18:34

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The main opposition New Democracy (ND) party looks poised to win the Greek parliamentary elections on July 7, but with the vote expected to be split between up to seven different parties, it may have to look for coalition partners.

Meanwhile, the ruling left-wing SYRIZA party is forecast to finish a distant second by pollsters, around 10 percentage points behind.

Here's who is running.

SYRIZA

Prime minister Alexis Tsipras' left-wing SYRIZA (Coalition of the Radical Left) party has experienced a stellar rise since its 2009 inception, going from just 4% then to becoming the main opposition party in 2012, thanks to its anti-austerity rhetoric.

It came to power in 2015 — winning two national elections that year — but suffered two major electoral blows. losing the EU elections as well as the local and regional elections to its conservative rival, ND, at the end of May.

According to the polls, SYRIZA is heading towards another defeat in the general elections, despite the fact that the man behind its fast rise, Alexis Tsipras, believes that the EU election result can be overturned.

New Democracy

New Democracy and its leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis seek to return to government four years after two consecutive electoral defeats. The centre-right party has been one of the country's two reigning parties for almost 40 years.

Mitsotakis promises new investments, lower taxation, more and better-payed jobs and more police on the streets of large cities.

Most pollsters agree that it will easily win the elections, with a chance of forming a government on its own.

Movement for Change (KINAL)

Movement for Change is the "reincarnation" of former socialist party PASOK, which saw its electorate dwindle by around 90% after it backed the first bailout programme in 2010.

Now, as Movement for Change and under the leadership of Fofi Gennimata, the party tries to appear as the “responsible” choice and aims to regain the voters it lost to SYRIZA.

The Greek Communist Party (ΚΚΕ)

The Greek Communist Party is the oldest party in Greek politics. After its decriminalisation in 1974, it has had a constant presence in the Greek Parliament with its percentages ranging from 4 to 8%.

Golden Dawn

The ultranationalist party managed to enter the Greek Parliament in 2010 at around the same time other far-right forces were rising in Europe.

Although it successfully managed to elect two MEPs in May, its ratings appear to be dropping. It is also, still on trial for the murder of musician Pavlos Fyssas and migrant worker Sahzat Lukman and attacks on migrants.

Greek Solution

Far-right populist party Greek Solution managed to pass the 3% threshold in the European Elections and its leader, Kyriakos Velopoulos, was elected MEP. Velopoulos, a televangelist, advocating for the death penalty and closed borders, drew ridicule online for marketing letters he said were written by Jesus Christ.

ΜεΡΑ25 (DiEM25)

The Greek part of the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025, launched by former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, failed to win seats in the EU elections in May, garnering only 0.01% of the vote. In these elections, it is forecast to pass the 3% threshold necessary to enter parliament, by gaining votes from previous SYRIZA voters.